Folding toy house



Nov. 25, 1 24- 1,517,030

M. G. TALCOTT 0 FOLDING TOY HOUSE Filed. March 1 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet. 1

1,517,030 M. G. TALCOTT FOLDING TOY HOUSE Filed March 16. 1923 3Sheets-Sheet. 2

I Jim/51317012 Nov. 1924- 1,517,030

M. G. TALCOTT FOLDING TOY HOUSE Filed March 16, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 5ZYYEZSZTOIE 51 5: vz/[mqm A TTYS f I x Patented Nov. 25, 1924.

UNITED STATES IMORRIS GARDNER TALCOTT, OF EAST CLEVELAND, OHIO.

FOLDING TOY HOUSE.

Application filled March 16, 1923. Serial No. 625,438.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MORRIS GARDNER T ALCOTT, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at East Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and Stateof Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in a FoldingToy House, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention is concerned with toys, and has for its object theprovision of a novel doll house construction. More specifically, theobject of my invention is the provision of a doll house constructed ofan extremely simple character which may be folded or assembled in such asimple manner as to be readily understood by the juvenile mind.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a doll houseconstruction enibodying members or units which may be conveniently andreadily folded in a compact manner, whereby the structure may becollapsed and placed in a package or container of such dimensions thatthe container may also serve as a foundation or base for the doll house,when the doll house is erected. A further object of my invention is theprovision of a doll house construction of such proportions that theinterior thereof, may be divided into rooms or compartments ofsuflicient dimensions whereby miniature furniture may be convenientlyarranged therein.

An additional object of my invention is the provision of a novel,removable stair construction adaptable to the doll house structure andwhich may be compactly folded. Other objects of my invention will behereinafter set forth in the following description which refers to theaccompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of myinvention. The essential characteristics are summarized in the claims.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the assembled doll houseas viewed from an open side thereof; Fig. 2 is an end elevation of thestructure; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional elevation taken substantiallyalong the line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4:, is a perspective view illustratingthe collapsible and folding characteristics of the structure; Fig. 5 isa cross-sectional view taken through the container, showing the mannerof placing the folded structure within the container; Fig. 6, is across-sectional plan view taken sub- In accordance with the objects ofmy ini r vention, I provide a doll house which is open on one side anddivided into floors and compartments, the general dimensions of thehouse being such that there may be sufficient space whereby the hand maybe inserted to adjust and arrange miniature furniture in the respectivecompartments. As shown in the drawings, the house comprises primarily atwo floor structure, the main partition dividing the structure into afirst and second story, and carrying various dividing walls whichdetermine compartments on the respective floors of the structure. Thesesmaller partition walls may be attached to the floor partition byhinges, whereby the proper proportioning of the respective compartmentsand the distance between the floors and ceilings of the structure, aresuch that the dividing walls may be readily folded into juxtaposition tothe main partition divid.

ing the structure into two stories. The main floor, the exterior walls,the roof, the ceiling of the second floor, etc., are built up of panelscarrying windows, the respective panels being connected by hingeswhereby the major elements of the structure are interconnected and maybe folded, as will be present ly described.

As shown in Fig. 4:, the end walls may comprise pairs of panels 9 and 10suitably joined by hinge members 13, at a position which is midway ofthe top and bottom of the panels 9 and 10 respectively. The panels maybe'reinforced by strips 14: along the hinge joint and by bottom strips20 positioned on the outside of the wall. Hinged members 16 connect theend walls of the structure to the floor panel 15, which is positioned ona base 22.

The rear wall comprises two panel members 17 and 18, also having windowsformed therein, and joined by hinge members 19. An interior-1y disposedstrip 23, serves to reinforce the hinge joints between the panelmembers. The lower panel member may be hingedly connected to a rail 25,rigid with the floor panel 15, the height of this rail beingsubstantially equal to the thickness of the panel members 9 and 10 whenfolded inwardly into a fiat position on the floor panel 15. Areinforcing strip 26, may be secured to and comprise part of the railupon which the bottom edge of the panel member 17 rests when the rearwall is in a vertical or erected position.

The interiorly disposed reinforcing strips 14 and 23 may be spaced apartto provide a slideway for engaging the edges of the partitioning member28 which comprises the second floor.- Parallel. rails 38 may be securedto the under side of the ceiling panel adjacent its lateral edges toreceive the top edges of the end wall panel members 10.

The ceiling of the second floor comprises a panel member 30, which ispivotally connected to the top edge of the back wall panel member 18,the pivotal connection comprising hinge members secured to the wall andceiling panel in such a manner that when the back Wall panels 17 and 18are folded inwardly upon the floor panel 15, the ceiling panel 30 willbe superposed upon the floor panel, with the end panels9 and 10 disposedtherebetween.

The roof of the structure comprises panel members 31 and 32,-the formerbeing eonnected to the ceiling panel 30 by interiorly disposed hinges33. Hinges 34 may be positioned to connect the roof members 31, and '32,along the top edges thereof, whereby the roof member 32 may 3e swunginwardly adjacent the roof member 31, or may be swung throughsubstantially 27'0degrees, whereby the member 32 may lie flat uponthemember 31, and the member 31 may lie fiat upon the ceiling member 30.Gable members may be secured adjacent the transverse edges of theceiling panel and upon the top side thereof, whereby these members maysupport the roof members. Hinges 37 connect the gable members to theceiling panel, whereby they may beswung inwardly and lie flat thereupon.It will thus be seen that when the structure is collapsed, the panelmembers 9 and 10 fold inwardly and superpose upon the floor panel 15.The back walls comprising the panels 17 and. 18 fold inwardly and carrywith them the roof panels until they lie fiat upon the end wall panels 9and 10. The ceiling panel will thus be brought down in superposedrelation to the floor panel 15, with the end walls and the back Wallsdisposed therebetween. The gable members 36 may then. be swung inwardlyto flattened position upon the ceiling panel, and the roof member 32swung upwardly and into contact with the roof member 31. The latterm-embermay then be swung inwardly into a flat or superposed relationwith the ceiling channel 30 and the gable members 36. Itwill be notedfrom the foregoing description that the floor and ceiling of the secondstory of the struc- 'ture, the two side walls, the rear wall, and

the roof, are all connected and may be folded in a very. compact manner.

To maintain the back and end walls in an erect, vertical position, Ihave spaced the reinforcing members 14 and 23 apart a suiiicientdistance whereby the edges ofthe main partition member 28 comprising thesecond floor of the structure, may be firmly engaged thereby whilepermitting a sliding movement of the member 28, when knocking down orbuilding up the structure. The partition member 28 carries the partitionmembers 41', 42 and 43, which serve to divide the second'fioor of thestructure into compartments. The members 41 and 43 may be connected inhinged relationto the partition member 28, while the member 42 may be inslidable engagement therewith. The rail members 44 may be secured to thetop face of the partition member 28 to afford proper engagement andspacing means for the partition wall 42. Rails 45 similar to the rails38, may be secured to the under face of the ceiling panel 30, in aposition immediately above the rail members 44, carried by the mainpartition member 28; The first floor of the doll house may be dividedinto compartments by other partition members 46 and 47, hingedlyconnected to the under face of the partition member 28. The partitionmember 28 may i have a stairway opening 50, while any number ofdoorways, etc. may be formed in the partition members 41, 42, 43, etc.

The manner in which I construct and install. the stairway and stairframes in the doll house structure, is also based upon the considerationof compactness and ready assembly. The stairs may be made in unitsadapted to be attached to the partitionwalls in such a manner as to bemaintained in place. As shown in Fig. 3, the stairway from the first tothe second floor may com prise a stretch of stairs 53 disposed withinone :of the end rooms of the first floor and extending half way to thenext floor and terminating at an opening-54 formed in the partition wall47. A second set of stairs 56 may be disposed within the centralcompartment 57. and extend from the wall opening 54 upwardly to thefloor opening 50 in the partition member 28. The stair stretches 53 and56 are attach-ed to landing members 59, which are connected by a hingemember 60, at a position in alignment with the par tition wall 47.Attaching means in the nature of a small metallic clip 61, may serve toconnect the upper end of the stair stretch 56 with the partition member28. The stair stretches 53 and 56, it will be seen are permanentlyconnected together but when removed from the structure, may be folded bysuperposing the members 59, thus bringing the stretches of stairstogether in the manner illustrated in F ig. 5. The main weight of thestairs is thus carried by the wall 47 through the members 59 restingalong the bottom edge of the opening 54.

A second set of stairs extend from the second floor to the nursery orspace beneath the eaves and comprises separable stair stretchers 62 and63. The stairs 62 are positioned against the wall 43 and the back wall18 and carry the landing 64 integrally therewith while the stair steps63 may be detachably connected to the landing and to the edge of theopening 64 formed in the ceiling panel 80.

To carry out the miniature representation of a house, the foundationpanels may be printed or may be covered with a paper coatingrepresenting brick, tile or stone. The foundation members may comprise arear longitudinal panel hingedly c011- nected to the under side of thefloor panel 15 and detachable end panels 71 pivotally connected to thefront panel 72. A detachable chimney 40 may have the same finish as thefoundation. This chimney member may be attached to the roof by anysuitable means such as small pins embedded in the bottom edges thereof.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that I provide a dollhouse structure which may be of a substantial size whereby theindividual compartments or rooms in the structure may be accessible tothe child when it is desired to shift the fur niture therein. Thevarious compartments may have artistic finishes such as paper, stencilwork, etc., the nature of the structure being such as to permitvariations in the provisions for carrying out the representation of aminiature house. The folding principles involved are such as to at forda greater degree of rigidity in the structure when assembled, whilebeing of such simple character as to be readily understood by thejuvenile mind, the rigidity of the entire structure being dependent uponthe proper positioning of a main dividing member which determines thefirst and second floors of the structure. The character of the structureis also such that any suitable material such as veneered wood,commercial plasterboard or other paper board may be used. Furthermore,the entire arrangement is such as to permit of the struc ture beingcompactly positioned within a container C whereby the toy may be mailedor expressed without damage.

I claim 1. A doll house structure, including a base member comprising afloor of the structure, a plurality of walls hingedly connected to thebase member and arranged to fold inwardly thereupon, a partition memberin the nature of a second floor for the structure, said partition memberbeing adaptable for sliding engagement with said walls, a ceiling panelhingedly connected to one of the walls, and roof members hingedlyconnected to the panel member.

2. In a doll house structure, a base memher, a plurality of side wallshingedly con nected thereto, said side walls being parted intermediatetheir upper and lower extremities whereby they may be folded uponthemselves and inwardly upon the base member, a ceiling panel hingedlyconnected to one of said wall members and roof members hingedlyconnected to the panel member and to each other whereby the side wallsmay be folded inwardly upon the base member and the ceiling member andthe roof members may be superposed thereupon.

3. In a doll house structure, the combina tion of a base member, aplurality of side walls hingedly connected thereto, said side wallscomprising a plurality of panels hingedly connected, there beingslideways associated with the connection of the respective panels, amajor partition member defining the first and second floors of thestructure and serving to prevent buckling of the wall panels when thepartition member is in engagement therewith and transverse partitionmembers hingedly connected to said partition member and having the freeends thereof in sliding engagement with a floor panel and a ceilingpanel of the structure.

4. In a doll house structure, the combination of a base member, a rearwall and end wall hingedly connected to the base member whereby they maybe folded thereover without being disconnected, a ceiling panelconnected to one of the side walls, gable members carried by the ceilingpanel, and roof members hingedly connected to the panel members wherebythe side wall, the ceiling panel, the gable members and the roof membersmay be folded and superposed upon the base member.

5. In a doll house structure, the combination of a plurality of panelmembers comprising the outer vertical walls of the structure, the panelmembers being hingedly connected intermediate their upper and lowerextremities whereby they may be folded inwardly, a base member connectedto all of the side wall members, a ceiling panel and roof panelsconnected to one of the side wall members, and a partition memberconnected to the side wall members adjacent the panel connectionsthereof whereby the side wall members may be maintained in rigid verti'cal relation by said partition member and the ceiling and roof panelsmay be supported by the side wall members.

6. In a doll house structure, the combination of a base member, aplurality of outer folding walls hingedly connected thereto and a majorpartition member dividing the structure into an upper and a lower story,said partition member having a plurality of inner compartment definingmembers hingedly connected thereto whereby the removal of said majorpartition member will permit folding of the outer wall members upon thebase member.

a 7. In a doll house structure, the combination of a major partitionmember defining the first and second floors thereof, a plurality ofminor partition members carried thereby, one of said partition membershaving an opening therein and a folding stair case extending from onefloor of the structure to the other and extending through said openingwhereby the stair case may be supported by said partition member.

8. In a structure of the character described, the combination of atransverse partition member having an opening formed therein, and setsof stairs extending on each side of said partition member and supportedthere-by, said stairs being connected by a landing in the form of a pairof panels hingedly connected whereby one of said stair sets may bepassed through said opening while connected to the other set, and may befolded in superposed relation.

' 9. In a structure of the character described, the combination of aninner partition wall member, and sets of stairs detachably connected atthe landings thereof, said stair sets extending from one floor toanother 10. In a doll house structure, the combination of a plurality ofpanel members comprising the outer vertical walls of the structure, thepanel members being hingeably connected intermediate their upper andlower extremities whereby they may be folded inwardly, a base memberconnected to all of the side wall members, a partition member connectedto the side Wall members adjacent the panel connection whereby the sidewall members may be maintained in rigid vertical relation. by saidpartition member and folding stair-cases extending above and below thepartition member.

11. In a doll house structure, the combination of a base member, aplurality of outer folding walls hingeably connected thereto, a majorpartition member dividing the structure into an upper and a lower story,said partition member having a plurality of inn-er wall membershingeably connected thereto whereby the removal of said major partitionmember will permit folding of the outer wall members upon the basemember, and removable stair casings extending above and below the majorpartition member and disposed adjacent said inner wall members.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto am}: my signature.

MORRIS GARDNER TALoorr.

